Episode 32767: Open Democracy Minute for October 11, 2021 - Redistricting Hearings in Keene, Claremont & North Conway this week

Open Democracy Minute

You're listening to the Open Democracy Minute, keeping Granite State government by and for the people. Updates again this week on the Freedom to Vote Act, and NH redistricting. Both are critical to restoring honest elections in New Hampshire, and both are under threat by anti-voter factions. The Freedom to Vote Act took a blow this week from the NH Municipal Association, which cited concerns that the early voting requirements would require smaller towns to add too many hours of staff time. But that view may be shortsighted, since the Freedom to Vote Act also adds online voter registration options, offsetting those hours by making the voter registration process more efficient, and there is federal support for municipalities to implement these election changes. The Freedom to Vote Act, like many other important bills, is stalled by the filibuster rules in the U.S. Senate, and is still pending its vote in the Senate before going to the House. This week's in-county hearings by the NH House and Senate redistricting committees are Tuesday, 6 pm in Keene, Wednesday, 6 pm in Claremont, and Thursday, 6 pm in North Conway. These are public hearings where voters can voice their concerns for a fair redistricting process, if their town didn't get it's own constitutionally-guaranteed House district, or if they don't like the town with which they are districted. More information on the hearings can be found at OpenDemocracyAction.org As Granny D said, “Democracy is not something we HAVE, it's something we DO.” For the Open Democracy Minute, I'm Brian Beihl.